BULLETINof the

Chicago Herpetological Society

Volume 50, Number 7July 2015

The Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society (ISSN0009-3564) is published monthly by the Chicago Herpeto-logical Society, 2430 N. Cannon Drive, Chicago IL 60614. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago IL. Postmaster: Sendaddress changes to: Chicago Herpetological Society, Mem-bership Secretary, 2430 N. Cannon Drive, Chicago IL 60614.

BULLETIN OF THE CHICAGO HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETYVolume 50, Number 7

July 2015

The Unissued Philatelic Essays of Morocco, Featuring Herpetofaunal Species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indraneil Das 93

Notes on the Herpetofauna of Western Mexico 13: Effects of Wildfires on the Reptile Community in the Natural Protected Area “La Primavera,” in Jalisco, Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Daniel Cruz-Sáenz, Sergio Guerrero Vázquez and David Lazcano 96

Book Review: Bushmaster: Raymond Ditmars and the Hunt for the World’s Largest Viper by Dan Eatherley . . . . . Stephen Barten 101

Herping for Snow Snakes in Southern Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Roger A. Repp 103

Unofficial Minutes of the CHS Board Meeting, June 12, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

What You Missed at the May Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .John Archer 107

What You Missed at the June Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .John Archer 108

Herpetology 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

In Memoriam: Philip A. Cochran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dreux J. Watermolen 112

Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Cover: Colorful postage stamps featuring herpetofauna from a set designed for the Kingdom of Morocco but never issued.

STAFF

Editor: Michael A. Dloogatch --- madadder0@aol.com

2015 CHS Board of Directors

President: John ArcherVice-president: Rich LamszusTreasurer: Andy MalawyRecording Secretary: Rachel FesslerCorresponding Secretary: Ed HuetherPublications Secretary: Aaron LaForgeMembership Secretary: Mike DloogatchSergeant-at-arms: Dick BuchholzMembers-at-large: Brandon Ottolino

Teresa SavinoColleen SchwarzMike Scott

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Copyright © 2015

Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 50(7):93-95, 2015

The Unissued Philatelic Essays of Morocco, Featuring Herpetofaunal Species

Indraneil DasInstitute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak

MALAYSIAidas@ibec.unimas.my

Morocco, in northern Africa, has had a turbulent recentpolitical history, with several colonial powers struggling toacquire the country --- France, Spain, Great Britain and Germany.Although the Kingdom of Morocco was established in 1956, thefirst stamps for the region were issued between 1956 and 1957(separately by the northern and southern zones), and issues forthe entire country commenced from 1958. Historically, bothFrance and Spain have influenced its philatelic production.Overprinted Gibralter stamps were used at British postal agen-cies tasked with postal delivery in Morocco, between 1898 and1903. Thereafter, stamps of Great Britain, surcharged withBritish, Spanish and French currencies, were used till the time ofMorocco’s independence. A brief philatelic history of the coun-try can be found in Lamb (2014).

Morocco is one of few countries or postal authorities world-wide not to have issued definitive or commemorative stamps onherpetological themes (Domfil, 1992), although stamps, espe-cially private post issues, are in high demand (Brunström, 2014).

Thus, it was a surprise when a French dealer could provideme with a set of stamp essays from this country, depicting threespecies of herpetofauna, from a series of 10 species depictingmostly African species of mammals and reptiles (Table 1). Thisincludes the now locally extinct north African crocodile (Croco-

dylus suchus), the Mediterranean tortoise (Testudo graeca) and

the exotic (to North Africa) rhinoceros viper (Bitis nasicornis).All (except apparently one, the giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis)were prepared with alternative color frames, and of the samevalue, suggestive of early designs (= philatelic essays; sensu

Mackay, 2003) for approval. Not much is known of the date ofissue or designer, except that they date to the year 1956 and areprinted on ivory cream paper type. The crocodile proofs are of 3 franc denominations, and set in frames of gray, green andbrown, and printed on map litho paper stock, each measuring132 × 100 mm, each of the stamps of dimensions 48 × 27 mm.The higher value tortoise proofs are in denomination of 20 franc(fr), and set in frames of gray and green, and in similar size andtype of mount. The highest values in the series are the snakestamp designs, of 45 fr value.

Other taxa in the series include the extinct (since before1500) giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) (2 fr, set in brownframe), the Barbary stag (Cervus elaphus barbarus), an antelope(15 fr, set in gray frame) and an exotic species, the hamadryasbaboon (Papio hamadryas) (5 fr, set in gray frame).

The design of the set is worthy of description. Format iseither horizontal (eight designs) or vertical (two designs). Theframes measure 8 × 5 mm, the space for the images 28 × 18 mm.On the top are the words “MAROC POSTES” (= Morocco Post,in French). On the left of the frame is the proposed value in

Table 1. Essays for an unissued series of thematic stamps from Morocco, featuring mostly African fauna.

Sl

Proposedface value(in francs) Species depicted

Frame color / format Remarks

1 2 fr Giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalisbrown /horizontal Extinct in Morocco

2 3 fr North African crocodile, Crocodylus suchusbrown, green and gray /horizontal Extinct in Morocco

3 5 fr Hamadryas baboon, Papio hamadryasbrown, green and gray /horizontal Exotic to Morocco

4 10 fr Barbary sheep, Ammotragus lerviabrown, green and gray /horizontal Mountains of Morocco

5 15 fr Barbary stag, Cervus elaphus barbarusgray / horizontal Extinct in Morocco

6 20 fr North African tortoise, Testudo graecabrown, green and gray /horizontal Widespread in Morocco

7 25 fr Bactrian camel, Camelus bactrianusbrown, green and gray /horizontal Exotic to Morocco

8 30 fr Sand cat, Felis margaritabrown, green and gray /vertical Western Morocco

9 40 fr Tibetan fox, Vulpes ferrilatabrown, green and gray /horizontal Exotic to Morocco

10 45 fr Rhinoceros viper, Bitis nasicornisbrown, green and red /vertical Exotic to Morocco

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Figure 1. Unissued philatelic essay from Morocco, of suggested 3 francvalue, showing Crocodylus suchus. Design includes versions with gray,green and brown frames.

Figure 2. Unissued philatelic essay from Morocco, of suggested 20franc value, showing Testudo graeca. Design includes versions withgray, green and brown frames.

Figure 3. Unissued philatelic essay fromMorocco, of suggested 45 franc value,showing Bitis nasicornis. Designincludes versions with red, green andbrown frames.

francs, in French, on the right, the value in Arabic numerals, thecurrency cited in Arabic script. Above and below the values arehieroglyphic-like motifs, which may be space fillers for theseessays. At the bottom of the frame is indication of postal author-ity (Al-Maghrabeb Bareed) in Arabic script, the Arabic name ofthe postal department of Morocco at the time of French occupa-tion.

Since stamps issued from Morocco between 2 March 1956and 20 November 1957 were from the northern zone (underSpanish rule, denominations in centimos and pesetas) and thesouthern zone (under France, denomination in centimes andfrancs), the essays under review are evidently from the Frenchpostal service. The French currency persisted after the unifica-tion of the two postal services, in late 1957, with the introduc-tion of dirham and cent.

Further support for a French origin comes in the reference tothe intended country of origin of these essays. Stamps issuedfrom the northern zone bear “Marruecos”, while those from thesouthern zone show “Maroc Postes” (see Maetz, 2015). Thewords “Royaime du Maroc” of contemporary Morocco stampsappear for the first time on a three-value stamp issue from 1958(Stanley Gibbons catalog number SG 57-59), that commemoratethe inauguration of the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris. Morerecent philatelic issues from Morocco have been technicallyinnovative, such as the 3.25 dirham, 100% recycled postalstamp, issued to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of theWorld Earth Day (Jennings, 2010).

Reasons for non-issue of the Moroccan philatelic essays are

worthy of speculation. Chief amongst them is that this NorthAfrican Kingdom became independent in the presumed year ofdesign of these philatelic essays, adopting its own currency andappointing its own security printers. Additionally, North Africannations, in general, have preferred non-thematic stamps, fewissuing herpetofaunal topics (the turtle, in particular, beingharam, or unlawful meat for followers of Islam). Starting from1956, Morocco has issued no less than 1,273 philatelic issuestill July 2010 (as enumerated by Stanley Gibbons catalogues,and supplemented by the Gibbons Stamp Monthly, issue ofFebruary 2012), relatively few of which are on zoologicalthemes (except large mammals, birds, and fishes). Other reasonsmay be the realization that a majority of the species to be de-picted do not (or no longer) occur in Morocco, or the ratherpoor design of the series, with excessively wide and brightframes that detract from the images themselves.

These stamp designs have been suspected by the sellingsource, to date to March 1956, predating the independence ofMorocco in January 1962, when the new currency, the dirham,was adopted. At the time of independence, Morocco used anumber of European printers for the design of its stamps: Cour-voisier in Switzerland, Enschede in the Netherlands, Delrieu inFrance, and Heraclio Fournier in Switzerland. Of these, the mostlikely designer may be either Heraclio Fournier or Courvoisier,part of whose archives were dispersed via auction in recent years(Läge, 2007; Zimmermann, 2007; Morgan, 2008).

This article presented a case of unissued zoological series ofphilatelic essays from the Kingdom of Morocco, dating back tothe year 1956, about the time of independence of the country.The essays are in French currency, and were never issued. Threeherpetological species are recognizable, one extant, one extinctand one exotic to the country.

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Acknowledgments

I thank Rene Huss of St. Giles les Mains, France, for theessays that form the basis of the article, and the Institute of

Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation for supportingthis research. Zuhair Amr assisted with the translation of Arabiccontents, and Genevieve V. A. Gee commented on an early draftof the manuscript.

Literature Cited

Brunström, C. 2014. The rekkas of Morocco. Gibbons Stamp Monthly 45(4):122-126.

Domfil, S. 1992. Fauna prehistorias y reptiles. Prehistoric and reptiles. Sabadell, Spain: Domfil Thematic Stamp Catalogues. xii + 146 pp.

Jennings, P. 2010. Finland and Morocco combine to pioneer 100 per cent recycled stamps. Gibbons Stamp Monthly 41(4):90-93.

Läge, D. 2007. The Fournier archive. Documents of modern stamp printing. The Asia Pacific Exhibitor 20(4):235-242.

Lamb, B. 2014. Worldwide in a nutshell. Kingdom of Morocco. American Philatelist 128(5):504-505.

Mackay, J. 2003. Philatelic terms illustrated. London and Ringwood: Stanley Gibbons Ltd. 170 pp.

Maetz, C. 2015. Document d’identification des timbres-poste. Version 2.4. 28 February 2013. 47 pp. Online document accessible from:http://www.christophemaetz.fr/philatelie/telechargements/?lang=en. Downloaded 11 May 2015.

Morgan, G. H. 2008. Courvoisier samples . . . dating from before the purchase of the company by Walsall Security Printers. DummyStamps (10):6.

Zimmermann, R. 2007. The Fournier archives. Joint Stamp Issues (39):6-9.

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1. Centro de Estudios en Zoología, CUCBA, Universidad de Guadalajara, Apartado Postal. 1-1919, Guadalajara, Jalisco, 44101, Mexico.2. Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Laboratorio de Herpetología, Apartado Postal-513, San Nicolás de los Garza,Nuevo León, C.P. 66450, Mexico. imantodes52@hotmail.com

Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 50(7):96-100, 2015

Notes on the Herpetofauna of Western Mexico 13:Effects of Wildfires on the Reptile Community in the Natural Protected Area “La Primavera,”

in Jalisco, MexicoDaniel Cruz-Sáenz 1*, Sergio Guerrero Vázquez 1 and David Lazcano 2

* Corresponding author: dcruzsaenz@gmail.com

AbstractWe surveyed the herpetofauna at four sites affected by wildfires that occurred on differentdates in the natural protected area “La Primavera,” with the purpose of identifying thedifferences in the community structure among the four sample sites at different stages in therecovery process. We sampled a total of 1.2 hectares per site, distributed in 6 band transectsand compared the richness, abundance and diversity. The sample sites affected by wildfireshave high diversity, richness and evenness values. The sample sites with greater recoverytime after the wildfire have the lowest values. This project is very important because the highnumber of wildfires in the natural protected area each year and the meager information aboutthe effects of fire on the fauna.

ResumenSe realizó el muestreo de reptiles en 4 sitios afectados por los incendios forestales ocurridosen diferentes fechas dentro del área de protección de flora y fauna bosque La Primavera, conla finalidad de conocer las diferencias en la estructura de la comunidad de reptiles en cadauno de los sitios en recuperación a través de un gradiente de perturbación. Se muestrearon1.2 hectáreas por sitio mediante 6 transectos en banda y posteriormente se realizó el análisisde riqueza, abundancia y diversidad. El sitio recientemente afectado resultó con el valor dediversidad más alto, la mayor riqueza y la mayor equidad, mientras los dos sitios con unmayor tiempo de recuperación obtuvieron los valores más bajos. Este estudio resultarelevante debido a la gran cantidad de incendios que se presentan es está área naturalprotegida y a la poca información respecto al efecto que estos tienen sobre la fauna.

Introduction

Wildfires occur naturally and cyclically in ecosystems andprovide benefits to the environment, such as the germination ofcertain seeds, and consumption of dead matter, allowing fornutrients to be recycled into the environment. On the other hand,these events can have severe consequences to the environmentdepending on the intensity and frequency with which they occur.

Fires are an important element in determining the structureand function of many ecosystems worldwide. They may influ-ence á and â diversity of organisms in differing ways dependingon the extent of the burned patches (Pastro et al., 2011). Manystudies have investigated various effects of fires upon fauna.Examples are: genetics (Schrey et al., 2011a, b), ecology (Mc-Coy et al., 2013; Bernstein and Christiansen, 2011).

Species with limited mobility capacity are more likely to diefrom wildfires (Lyon et al., 2000). In contrast some species ofreptiles may be favored by wildfires; especially those that preferopen areas, because after the fires, sites possess little vegetationcover (Greenberg et al., 1994; Brisson et al., 2003).

The most severe problems are experienced by the species thatneed specific habitat requirements or very specific food. Therelative densities of such species decrease after fires (Pianka,1996).

Wildfires have been a major problem at this protected area“La Primavera” (Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna La

Primavera or APFFLP) (CONANP, 2000). Cane crops coverlarge areas near APFFLP and are considered the main cause offires due to their management, including pre- and post-harvestburning. Due to its proximity to the city of Guadalajara the areais increasingly subjected to pressure from the impacts of urban-ization, agriculture and other anthropogenic factors.

Although it is obvious that forest fires alter the structure offorests and communities of organisms living there, in Mexico,few studies have been conducted to find out precisely howwildfires affect the natural communities. This paper seeks tohighlight the structure of reptile communities that have beenaffected by the fires.

Methods

Study area: The APFFLP is located in the central part of thestate of Jalisco, 103E28' to 103E42' W longitude, and 20E32' to20E44' N latitude. It has an area of 30,500 hectares, and lieswithin three municipalities: Zapopan, Tala and Tlajomulco deZuñiga, with Zapopan most of the area (SEMARNAT, 2010).

The sierra “La Primavera” is part of the Neovolcanic Trans-versal. This mountain range originated quite recently in geologi-

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An oak forest in recovery after a forest fire. Photograph by Daniel Cruz-Sáenz.

cal terms, with volcanic eruptions occurring between 140,000and 27,000 years ago.

According to the modified Köppen classification for Mexico(García, 1988), the climate in the APFFLP is represented by twotypes: humid and semi-warm temperate subhumid. Rainfalloccurs both in summer and winter. The annual rainfall rangesfrom 800 to 1000 mm. The average annual temperature is20.6EC with a variance of 6.5EC. January is the coldest monthand the warmest is June. The average annual humidity is 63%(CONANP, 2000; SEMARNAT, 2010).

In APFFLP there are four vegetation types according to theclassification of Rzedowski (1978) these are: oak forest, oak-pine forest, pine forest and tropical deciduous forest. Three plantcommunities are mentioned in the APFFLP management plan:riparian, rock-inhabiting and ruderal (CONANP, 2000).

According to CONANP (2000) there are 200 species of verte-brates reported, of which two are amphibians amd 17 reptiles.Of these 200 species, 19 are under some form of protection byMexican environmental law (SEMARNAT, 2010). More re-cently Reyna-Bustos et al. (2007) recorded 56 species ofherpetofauna.

We used a chronosequence model; that´s why four sites werechosen for sampling. Sites that were affected by the fires atdifferent times should be at different stages of recovery, thusrepresenting a gradient. The four sites were chosen based oninformation about past fires in APFFLP. Below is a brief de-scription of the sampling sites:

Pine-Oak Forest (Site 1): This site was affected by a firebefore 1998 (the exact date of the last fire in not known); how-ever this site harbors a pine-oak vegetation type; in some tran-sects pine is dominant forest. The site is located at coordinates:UTM 0650027 2279961, 1846 masl.

Oak-Pine Forest (Site 2): This place underwent a fire in1998. The vegetation is oak-pine. The site is located at coordi-

nates: UTM 650204 2279756, 1871 masl.

Open Oak-Pine Forest (Site 3): This site had a fire in 2002.The vegetation is oak-pine forest. The site is located at coordi-nates: UTM 0659047 2287923, 1633 masl.

Recently disturbed Pine Forest (Site 4): This site suffered afire in 2005. The vegetation is pine-oak. The site is located atcoordinates: UTM 0641138 2281407, 1466 masl.

Sampling was done every month for a year from February2006 to January 2007. Sites were sampled daily for four consec-utive days depending if weather conditions were similar. Thesesamples were made through in-band transects (Fitch, 1992;Sutherland, 2000) which had a length of 200 m and a width of10 m. We used six transects per site adding to a total surface of1.2 hectares sampled per site. We registered all herpetologicalspecimens per band transect. To update species names we usedthe most recent literature: Flores-Villela and Canseco-Marquez(2004) and Liner and Casas-Andreu (2008).

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An Elgaria kingii moving through the leaf litter of a pine forest.Photograph by Daniel Cruz-Sáenz. An Anolis nebulosus on an oak tree. Photograph by Daniel Cruz-Sáenz.

A beautiful Thamnophis cyrtopsis, a species known to inhabit the area,but not found in the study. Photograph by Daniel Cruz-Sáenz.

A male Sceloporus scalaris atop the leaf litter after eating a prey item.Photograph by Daniel Cruz-Sáenz.

A Pacific Coast parrot snake, Leptophis diplotropis. Photograph byDaniel Jimeno Sevilla.

Bocourt’s black-headed snake, Tantilla bocourti. Photograph by DanielCruz-Sáenz.

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Table 1. Species present in each site forest fire date, values of richness,diversity and evenness for each of the sites.

Site 1 Site 2 Site 3 Site 4

Date of forest fire before 1998 1998 2001 2005

Anolis nebulosus 238 246 123 27Elgaria kingii 0 2 0 0Aspidocelis communis 0 0 0 8Plestiodon indubitus 14 41 0 0Urosaurus bicarinatus 0 0 0 2Sceloporus horridus 4 1 15 25Sceloporus scalaris 0 0 0 1Coluber mentovarius 0 0 1 0Leptophis diplotropis 0 0 0 1Tantilla bocourti 1 1 0 0Richness 4 5 3 6Diversity 0.137 0.213 0.167 0.534Evenness 0.228 0.305 0.350 0.686

The sampling methods allowed us to directly detect as manyspecies as possible that were present at the moment (Campbelland Christman, 1982; James, 1994). Intensive search was con-ducted on each band transect, i.e., we looked under rocks, logs,in leaf litter, on trees and wherever feasible to find the reptiles.To analyze the community structure we used species richness(Shannon Index) and relative abundance. Shannon’s diversityindex was used to measure the diversity between sites. Evennesswas also calculated. The analysis was run in the software PAST.

Results

Surveys were conducted between February 2006 and January2007 we found 751 individuals representing six families, ninegenera and 10 species (Table 1). Of the observed species, fiveare under special protection in the NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010 and three are endemic to Mexico (SEMARNAT, 2010).

The families Phrynosomatidae and Colubridae were eachrepresented by three species; the other four species were in fourseparate families (Table 1).

Anolis nebulosus and Sceloporus horridus were found in allsampling sites; however abundances in sites with a longer timeof recovery (1 and 2) are slightly lower than in the more recentlyaffected sites (3 and 4). Six species were recorded in only onesite each: Aspidoscelis communis, Elgaria kingii, Sceloporus

scalaris, Urosaurus bicarinatus, Coluber mentovarius andLeptophis diplotropis.

Elgaria kingii, Plestiodon indubitus and Tantilla bocourti,were present on sites with a longer recovery time. These speciesgenerally prefer places with a high concentration of leaf litter.Sceloporus scalaris and Aspidoscelis communis, species thatprefer open areas, were recorded only in the recently disturbedpine forest.

Of the 751 records obtained during the study most wereAnolis nebulosus with a total of 634. However, A. nebulosus

was much less abundant in the recently disturbed pine forestthan at the sites that had been recovering longer. On the con-trary, Sceloporus horridus was much more abundant in the morerecently burned sites. The two most abundant species other thanA. nebulosus were P. indubitus and S. horridus. Three specieswere found only once: S. scalaris, L. diplotropis and C.

mentovarius.

Discussion

Two lizard species that prefer open areas, S. scalaris and A.

communis, were found only in the recently disturbed area ofpine forest. Greenberg et al. (1994) and Brisson et al. (2003)found in recently disturbed sites (with newly sprouted herba-ceous species) species that prefer open areas increase theirpopulations.

Most species are affected by fires. Species differences areapparent between the sites most recently affected by the firesand the recovered sites. This is due to habitat modificationespecially for arboreal species and those living in leaf litter andfallen logs.

Although A. nebulosus was the dominant species at all sites,its abundance was reduced in newly disturbed sites. By contrastS. horridus was favored by the disturbance, being more abun-dant in recently disturbed sites.

In the case of P. indubitus and T. bocourti a pattern is seenthat is similar to that described by Pianka (1996), in whichspecies with very specific habitat requirements decrease theirpopulations after a disturbance. These two species were found atsites with substantial litter coverage and were not present inrecently burned sites.

There is a marked difference between the numbers of speciesreported by Reyna-Bustos et al. (2007) for the forest “LaPrimavera” with those found in this study. This reflects twothings: the size of the sampled area and the effect of fire on thedecline in species richness, because all sites studied were af-fected by wildfires previously. And the richness in the burnedareas is also lower in relation the rest of the natural protectedarea.

It is important to conduct long-term studies on the effects offorest fires on fauna because the frequency of this phenomenonincreases over time due to factors such as mismanagement ofagricultural crops.

Acknowledgments

We thank the executive director of the APFFLP for logisticaland field support for the realization of this project, and AngelicaE. Vélez-River and Edgar G. Godínez-Navarro for their supportin the field.

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Pianka, E. R. 1996. Long-term changes in lizard assemblages in the Great Victoria Desert: Dynamic habitat mosaics in response towildfires. Pp. 191-215. In: M. L. Cody and J. A. Smallwood, editors, Long-term studies of vertebrate communities. San Diego:Academic Press.

Reyna-Bustos, O. F., I. T. Ahumada-Carrillo and O. Vázquez-Huizar. 2007. Anfibios y reptiles del bosque La Primavera: Guía ilustrada.Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico: Universidad de Guadalajara and Secretaría de desarrollo Rural. 123 pp.

Rzedowski, J. 1978. Vegetación de México, Limusa, México.

Schrey, A. W., K. G. Ashton, S. Heath, E. D. McCoy and H. R. Mushinsky. 2011a. Fire alters patterns of genetic diversity among threelizard species in Florida scrub habitat. Journal of Heredity 102(4):399-408.

Schrey, A. W., A. M. Fox, H. R. Mushinsky and E. D. McCoy. 2011b. Fire increases variance in genetic characteristics of Florida SandSkink (Plestiodon reynoldsi) local populations. Molecular Ecology 20(1):56-66.

SEMARNAT (Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales). 2010. Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010.Protección ambiental --- Especies nativas de México de flora y fauna silvestres --- Categorías de riesgo y especificaciones para su inclusión,exclusión o cambio --- Lista de especies en riesgo. Publicada el 30 de Diciembre 2010.

Sutherland, W. J. 2000. The conservation handbook: Research, management and policy. Oxford, England: Blackwell Science.

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Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 50(7):101-102, 2015

Book Review: Bushmaster: Raymond Ditmars and the Hunt for the World’s Largest Viperby Dan Eatherley. 2015. 303 pp.

Arcade Publishing, New York, USA. ISBN 978-1-62872-511-7. Hardcover $24.99

Stephen Barten DVMVernon Hills Animal Hospital

1260 S Butterfield RdMundelein, IL 60060

Raymond Ditmars is an icon ofNorth American herpetology. Dit-mars was the first curator of reptilesat the Bronx Zoo, serving from1899 until his death in 1942. Moreimportantly, he was passionateabout sharing his knowledge of andlove for reptiles with the publicthrough a series of books, lectures,and pioneering nature documenta-ries in the new medium of motionpictures. For those of us who grewup in pre-internet times, Ditmars’Reptiles of the World and Snakes of the World --- while long out of date even then --- often were the only books about herpetology inlocal libraries to feed the passions of the next generation ofreptile-smitten students. Many herpetologists who followed inDitmars’ footsteps cite his books as instrumental in fosteringtheir love of herpetology.

Of all the reptiles he worked with, Ditmars was perhaps mostobsessed with the bushmaster, Lachesis muta. Of course todaythree additional species are recognized, L. acrochorda, L. mela-

nocephala and L. stenophrys. Ditmars held a fascination forbushmasters ever since he received his first one in a shipmentfrom Trinidad in 1896. He received a small number of them overhis years at the zoo, but unfortunately they rarely survived verylong due to rough handling during capture and heavy parasiteloads. The arrival of a bushmaster at the zoo or Ditmars’ depar-ture on an adventure in search of them always was big news inlocal papers. Ditmars made many trips to the American tropicsin search of bushmasters, but never saw one himself in the wild.The bushmaster was Ditmars’ white whale. His passion for thespecies came across in his writings, which, along with his iconicphotograph of the head of a bushmaster with open mouth, erectfangs, and slanted, malevolent eyes, sparked interest in thespecies among Ditmars’ many fans and followers. I’m sure manyof you remember that remarkable image. If not, you can see it inEatherly’s book.

Bushmasters remain the favorite and most sought after prizefor many herpetologists, both professional and amateur. Bush-masters are the longest viper in the new world, reaching lengthsof 2.5 m (8.25 ft) with a record length of 3.65 m (12 ft). Theyhave peculiar bead- or file-like scales along their dorsum, and aspine-like scale on the tail tip. Bushmasters are the only NewWorld vipers that lay eggs. They are scarce, secretive, and rarelyencountered in the wild. When a lucky herper does find a bush-master, it invariably becomes the highlight of his trip and thething most bragged about. Even the well-known herpetologist

Harry Greene, in his seminal book Snakes: The Evolution of

Mystery in Nature, devoted his introduction to the bushmaster.Greene reminisced about being in elementary school and readingDitmars’ adventure of unpacking that first feisty bushmasterfrom its shipping crate and struggling to transfer it to a cage inhis family’s home. Of all the many experiences in his variedcareer, Greene came back to Ditmars’ inspiration and his ownfulfillment of the quest to work with bushmasters as perhaps hisgreatest career highlight to illustrate the fascination of snakes.

Dan Eatherly’s new book, Bushmaster: Raymond Ditmars

and the Hunt for the World’s Largest Viper, is more a biographyof Ditmars than a study of the bushmaster. Eatherly began with adegree in zoology and employment with first the BBC and lateran independent production company in the UK as assistantproducer of nature documentaries. He produced two films forNational Geographic starring Rom Whitaker: Snake Hunter

North America and Snake Hunter Costa Rica. During the film-ing of the latter a bushmaster was briefly shown, and Eatherlywas captivated. He began research on a proposed new documen-tary about bushmasters, which led him directly into Ditmars’remarkable life and career. Unfortunately, the events of 9/11changed the focus of networks away from animal documentariesand his project was shelved, but Eatherly was caught in the samespell that so many other budding herpetologists had fallen for:the charisma of Ditmars.

Eatherly uses three tools to tell Ditmars’ story. First, heemploys historical fiction, in which he writes a scene from Dit-mars’ life like a novel, with detailed descriptions of locations,persons, and events, including dialogue. Each story is based onan actual event, but the novelization approach genuinely bringsthe story to life, allowing the reader to become immersed in theevent and imagine what it might have been like to be there.

The second writing tool Eatherly uses is simple descriptionof facts and events in Ditmars’ life, as might be done in anybiography. For instance, the original reptile house at the BronxZoo was the world’s largest at 146 feet long and 100 feet wide,and construction cost was $50,000, a considerable sum in 1899.Ditmar’s initial salary as assistant reptile curator was $75 permonth plus $10 room allowance. The reptile food bill for 1901included “389 mice, 1,410 rats, 1,273 English sparrows, 366rabbits, 531 pigeons, 232 chickens, 812 toads, 408 frogs, 26,900live fish, 55 lbs. earthworms, 18,000 mealworms, 122 largepumpkins, 2,266 lbs green vegetables.” But more than just data,Eatherly relates stories about the zoo and also Ditmars’ travels.Because specialized veterinary care was unavailable, Ditmarswas forced to do his own doctoring, relying on initiative, com-mon sense, and a knowledge of normal behavior and anatomy.He kept a supply of medical equipment in his office, and medi-

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cal procedures and outcomes usually were reported in the localnewspapers. Ditmars knew the popularity of large and danger-ous specimens and prioritized them, working with a network ofdealers, collectors, and explorers to keep a constant supply ofnew arrivals. This often led to more adventures, such as the timetwo large king cobras escaped from their containers at the pre-mises of a New York animal importer and Ditmars and an assis-tant had to rush over to capture them. Ditmars traveled to thecountryside around New York City by means of railroad andhorse cart, and later by motorcar, to collect local snakes. Heonce got in trouble in the press for carrying a 14-foot king cobraon a train from New York to the National Zoo in Washington,D.C., in his own berth to keep it warm. In spite of his claims ofusing an escape-proof container, it was felt he had placed thepublic in unnecessary danger. In later years Ditmars traveledextensively to Central and South America and the Caribbean tocollect animals for the zoo. His departures and target species, aswell as his returns and results, made popular headlines in bothlocal papers and national magazines like Time.

Finally, Eatherly follows in Ditmars’ footsteps himself, and,seeking the help of knowledgeable people, tries to experiencesome of the same activities that Ditmars pioneered and per-fected. He hunts snakes in Central Park and some of the fewremaining rattlesnake dens in New York and Connecticut. Hevisits Ditmar’s house, which of course has a new owner unawareof its history, and also the reptile house of the Bronx Zoo. Heinterviews herpetologists currently doing the same work done byDitmars. He visits the Cape Fear Serpentarium in Wilmington,North Carolina, which is run by Dean Ripa, the father of captivebushmasters. Ripa has the largest collection of bushmasters inthe world and perhaps more experience with the genus thananyone. Ripa’s specimens live long lives and breed regularly.I’ve had the privilege of a personal tour of Ripa’s collection andit is most impressive, not to be missed.

Eatherly finally visits Trinidad where several of Ditmar’sfirst bushmasters originated, shipped to him by R. R. Mole, alocal collector, and where Ditmars himself visited in 1934 toprocure animals for the zoo --- specifically a bushmaster. Thispart of the narrative was of considerable interest to me becauseEatherly’s host in Trinidad was none other than the past editorof the CHS Bulletin, John Murphy, who is working on an updateof his 1997 Amphibians and Reptiles of Trinidad and Tobago. Iwas one of several CHS members who joined Murphy in Trini-dad in 1993 to gather specimens and photographs of the localherps for that book. We saw a wide variety of very interestingand exotic reptiles and amphibians there, but in spite of search-ing known haunts, the closest we came to seeing a bushmasterwas a piece of dried skin on the wall of the Simla ResearchStation left there by its founder, William Beebe. Ditmars had asimilar experience on Trinidad: he failed to find a bushmaster

himself but was given one collected by others. I’ll leave it to youto read Eatherly’s own experiences and adventures on the island.

Eatherly weaves the three writing styles together to goodeffect, moving from historical fiction to biographical narrative topersonal experience and interviews and back again. The result isa story that is interesting, cohesive, and holds one’s attention.

The book contains a number of black-and-white photographs of Ditmars, his colleagues, and his days at the Bronx Zoo. It isinteresting to see the zoo animals from times when there were no restrictions on which species could be imported; Ditmars is shown with a Komodo dragon, unpacking a shipment containing arecently collected Galápagos tortoise, and with a “consignment”of Galápagos land iguanas. An image of the old Bronx Zooreptile house is a stark contrast to modern zoo reptile houses. Additionally a number of contemporary color photographs depict Eatherly’s travels and experiences doing research for the book.

Ditmars had a remarkable career. He recognized that peopleviewed reptiles in general and snakes in particular with both aweand revulsion, and thus strove to educate and identify positivesabout his favorite animals. To that end Ditmars was a master ofpromotion, both of herpetology and himself. He was a popularauthor of nature adventure books and much in demand as alecturer. He was a master of generating news headlines in bothlocal and national publications, concerning new animals andexhibits at the zoo as well as proposed travels and acquisitions.Even before his first significant motion picture was completed in1914, he was described as “the father of kinematographic zool-ogy.” One of his many documentaries was titled Evolution andutilized a rhinoceros iguana with miniature backgrounds todepict a dinosaur. The film was re-released in 1925 to capitalizeon the publicity of the Scopes “Monkey Trial” in which a highschool teacher was prosecuted for teaching evolution in Tennes-see. Ditmars also was deeply involved in the development of aneffective treatment for snakebite in spite of never having beenbitten himself. He collaborated with researchers in the UnitedStates, Brazil, and Panama who were working to develop aneffective antivenin, and milked venomous snakes from the zooto provide raw material for its production. Ditmars also publi-cized and condemned ineffective folk treatments for snakebite.In addition to serving as curator of reptiles, he was awarded adual appointment as curator of mammals, and at the end of hiscareer he initiated a public exhibit of invertebrates. Perhapsmost importantly, he inspired generations of herpetologists whofollowed in his footsteps.

Bushmasters are perhaps as remarkable as members of thesnake family as Ditmars is to the herpetology family. The twoare forever linked, and their story is both interesting and enter-taining. Eatherly does a good job of sharing that story andbringing it to life, and I recommend this book.

Literature Cited

Ditmars, R. L. 1931. Snakes of the world. New York: The MacMillan Company.

)))))))). 1933. Reptiles of the world, revised edition. New York: The MacMillan Company.

Greene, H. W. 1997. Snakes: The evolution of mystery in nature. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.

Murphy, J. C. 1997. Amphibians and reptiles of Trinidad and Tobago. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company.

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Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 50(7):103-106, 2015

Herping for Snow Snakes in Southern Arizona

Roger A. Repp

The urge to just thrust the reader right into the thick of thefollowing adventure without any explanation is strong. But afew things need to be explained first, as many readers of theBulletin may be unfamiliar with the field herping techniqueshere in Arizona. Even the term “field herping” should be clari-fied. Many of you might call the act “field collecting,” but thosewho are in my circle of friends seldom collect a wild herp forany purpose. In Arizona, we have learned that if we leave themas found, there is a very high chance that we will one day en-counter them again. This is especially true during the fall, win-ter, and early spring of each year. Many species of snakes andlizards demonstrate fidelity to their winter lairs, as do DesertTortoises. They arrive at their winter homes in late fall, remainthroughout the cold of winter and early spring, and clear outwhen the weather suits them. They then leave, and pursue wellknown (to them) migratory patterns until the following fall,when they sometimes return to the exact same structure theyutilized the year previous. When one finds a herp in the fall, andleaves it undisturbed, one stands a good chance of finding thatsame herp year after year.

As the story that follows centers on aggregate dens of West-ern Diamond-backed Rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox), we stick tothem with further explanations as to how the field trip describedbelow developed. Back in March of 1995, all the dens discussedwere first discovered and named. They are located roughly 30miles north of the Mexican Border, well south of the town ofRobles Junction, also known as Three Points. Ron’s Den hasalways been the best den to ever pass before my eyes, and hashad up to 21 atrox visible with one visit. South Wash Den hashad as many as five, Roger’s Den, seven, Turner’s Den, three, 3-DPR, 13, and Fluorite Mine, 17.

Most readers are no doubt familiar with the drought condi-tions that have surrounded the Southwest over the past decade.Prior to the outing described below, the area we visited had notreceived any measureable rainfall for 175 days. Contrary to anymisinformation that might be out there in literature, all herpsliving in the Sonoran Desert must drink water to survive. Theycan go a long time without, but when the opportunity to drinkpresents itself, they must take advantage of that situation.

The story that follows clearly demonstrates the effort thatectothermic creatures like rattlesnakes will go through in orderto take advantage of any wet circumstances. The names of theindividuals involved have been changed, in order to preventthem from meddling with my text.

On 19 March 2006, a group of nine people embarked on aherp trip. The official motif of this adventure could best bedescribed as: What’s the sense in being stupid if you can’t proveit? The plan started six months previous to the trip actuallyhappening. The Gartersnake Queen, Musky Missy, sent out anemail that she would have a buddy in town on 19 March, andshe wanted said buddy to see a bunch of herps. Missy’s emailwent two directions. One went to Miller Highlife, the other fellinto the lap of Buttes Davis.

Since both of us do whatever Musky Missy wants, we wereall sorts of anxious to oblige. Besides, something planned sixmonths down the road is usually an event that won’t happenanyhow --- or so we thought. But death and taxes are no lessfailing than a plan set in motion by Musky. Come March 16,when dismal weather forecasts for the appointed date begancrossing Miller’s computer, he morphed into typing boy, andbegan to email powerful remonstrations. This in the hopes thatsomebody would come to their senses. But there was not a lickof common sense displayed by anybody for the next three days.

Hence, March 19 dawned, and five of us arrived at the lordlyestate of the Musk Queen. Tucked lovingly within the crampedbut friendly confines of Musky’s household were BriGuy, Sui-cide Sal, Hatchet Jeff, and Ms. Musky Missy herself. Upon ouringress to the household, it appeared that one helluva party hadensued the night before --- one that the other five people along onthis day weren’t invited to attend. The snubbed five consisted ofdriver #1, Mr. Nuthinbutnice, driver #2, Papa Bear, driver #3,Miller Highlife, with Bud Lite and Buttes Davis rounding outthe quintet. The plan was to take a trip to some atrox dens in themorning, followed by an adventure into the highlands to seekRidgenose. Since he knows all, sees all, and shares way toomuch, Miller Highlife was to be the guide for this excursion. Hechose a series of killer atrox dens that were “en route” to theRidgenose spot. (En route in the same fashion that Florida is enroute to Mexico City.)

Normally, the local weather Jedi’s couldn’t count their noseand reach the same sum twice. But for once, they had the fore-cast 80% correct. Rain, sleet, snow, hail, and a daytime high of65 degrees. Four out of five isn’t bad where our weather folk areconcerned. Where they got the 65-degree part is unclear. At nopoint in the day did it get any warmer than 45EF.

Prior to departure, we all took turns tripping over empty beerbottles and slipping on discarded undergarments in order toutilize the facilities. Musky’s toilet got a heavy workout duringthis pre-road-trip urinary festival. Once all nine bladders weregladder, it became time to gather around the three chariots thatwere to take us to the herps.

We gazed to the southeasterly direction that we were aboutto go, and could not help but notice gigantic, ominous andforeboding black clouds billowing both upward and outward tosmother us in their cold embrace. Even as we watched, a gianthand suddenly appeared in the sky, its index finger pointingdirectly at the oncoming clouds. Lightning snaked from the tipof this finger, and blasted a neat and narrow script through them.The words that issued from this fingertip were, “mene, mene,tekel, upharsin.” We took this handwriting on the clouds as asign that it would all blow over soon.

With the lame promise that at least 20 atrox would be ob-served this day, Miller Highlife led the caravan into the teeth ofthe storm. We arrived at the first stop just in time to face ahurricane. Since Miller had driven his Tacoma pickup, he hadstored everything in his open bed in Glad Hefty trash bags.

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Figure 1. The perfect weather for herping? Snowflakes descend onBlake Thomason (Bud Lite) and Melissa Amarello (Musky Missy).Moments after this image was taken, the first C. atrox was found.Photograph by Brian Freiermuth (BriGuy).

These trash bags became the garb for the day for those who hadnot brought rain gear. In particular, Suicide Sal was wearingonly shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals. He looked quite spiffy in hisMan from Glad attire.

The temperature was near freezing. The winds buffeted us at40 mph. Rain mixed with sleet came next --- this all at the timewhen we were just getting ready to start the 200-meter hikedown to a gully that contained two atrox dens. At that point, ifany one of us had said “Screw this!” the day would have beenover. Everybody was waiting for somebody else to become thevoice of reason. And nobody was man or woman enough tospeak their mind. Each of us was too much of a wuss to throw awuss --- despite the fact that throwing a wuss would have been amost pragmatic decision. A mutiny would have been welcomedby Captain and crew alike.

Hence, under the most impossible of conditions, nine manlywusses began picking their way through the minefield of dis-carded backpacks, clothing, pampers, and toothpaste left bythose who went before us. Any remote spot south of I-10 thesedays is a Walmart of sorts. No need to buy anything, just pick itoff the ground. While en route to the first den, Bud Lite decidedto “shop” for a new backpack. While exploring the inner re-cesses of one of his selections, he discovered two empty cans ofjalapeño peppers. Yup --- good old jalapeño peppers --- the perfectsurvival fare. Don’t they offer these northbound Southrons anytravel tips before they embark on their journey? Goodnessgracious, there had to be more hard, fast dribbling going on herethan at the NCAA basketball tournament!

Speaking of desperate people, the nine of us eventuallyarrived in front of a south-facing limestone mini bluff. MillerHighlife informed the group that they were standing before theden known as Roger’s Den. All nine people hit the den witheverything they had, with the results being that the den was trulyas great as its name. We didn’t see a damn thing!

During the course of shining crevices and tangling withcholla pods, the weather took a turn for the better. The howlingwinds ceased, and the rain morphed into dime-sized snowflakes.(Figure 1). The snow was not only coming down --- it was rapidlyaccumulating on the ground. And now, nine people were seek-ing the legendary “snow snakes.” It did not take us long to scoreone.

Miller hoofed up slope and down wash from Roger’s Den.He was heading to a place known as Turner’s Den. Discoveredby a gentleman by the name of Dale Turner a few years previ-ous, this den was everything a den should not be. Leave it to alizard guy to find such a den. It is a pyramid-shaped chunk ofgranitic limestone caprock of sorts. It faces due north. It violatesevery rule that has ever been written about the hibernacula ofsnakes that don’t read such rules.

And speaking of violating rules, coiled in front of the eastentrance to Turner’s Den was a young male atrox. At the pointMiller made the find, snowflakes were landing on the snake’stightly-coiled form. The snake was reacting to the accumulationby slowly and methodically directing its snout to each wet spot,and lapping it up. Yes, sirs and madams, this snake was drinking

snow melt off its body!

The group gathered to photo this animal in the act, but no-body was really able to do so successfully. The snake spooked atall the attention it was getting, and crawled very slowly into thedeeper recesses of its den. One down, and 19 to go in order tomeet Miller’s ridiculous prediction of 20.

On a normal mid-March day, we could expect temperaturesof 85EF. We could have merrily explored the wash that con-tained Turner’s Den, and had a fighting chance at finding manymore snakes. But as we were now herping in a winter wonder-land, Miller was forced to make an executive decision. Saiddecision was to visit only the sweetest known spots in the area.This in turn set up a full-scale evacuation of the wash.

During the course of the evacuation, a Border Patrol agentpaid us a courtesy call. He was a bit curious about nine peoplein Man from Glad attire mucking up his turf. Once he wasassured that we were all harmless, and merely out of our minds,he was kind enough to inform us to be careful, that there washeavy illegal traffic in the area. No kidding! Really?

Nine people then piled into the three vehicles for the nextassault. During our drive time, the storm morphed once againinto gusty winds combined with rain and blistering sleet. It wasunder these conditions that we made preparations to assail the

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Figure 2. At Ron’s Den, a large adult male C. atrox is coiled in a rainharvesting posture, drinking sleet off its flanks. Photograph by BrianFreiermuth

Figure 3. Emaciated male C. atrox caught in the act of spooking whiletrying to lap sleet off its flank, South Wash Rat Den. Photograph byMelissa Amarello

mightiest of all atrox dens: Ron’s Den.

As mentioned earlier, Ron’s Den is a gash den that has beenunder observation since its discovery in March 1995. The patri-arch and alpha male of the den is Tyson. He’s a big, strong,skinny old nasty atrox who rules his roost like a tyrant. He wasthere to greet us in 1995, and he was there to greet us again thisday. He was outside the gash, sleet blasting his flanks, movingaround the perimeter of the opening like it was 90 degreesoutside. Incredibly, one other male was mimicking his antics.(These two snakes are like the guys who attend football gamesbare-chested in subzero temperatures). Three other atrox werecoiled just outside the gash, heads in coils, lapping up sleet andrain. (Figure 2). Yet two more atrox were observed about 600millimeters back in the gash, amongst the pack rat debris that isperennially visible inside.

Eight down, twelve to go . . .

As the storm continued to howl about us, Miller Highlifefinally spoke his mind. “Screw the Ridgenose,” said he. “Weain’t going a mile high in this stuff!” Eight sighs of relief, ac-companied by nodding heads, followed this announcement. (Butwho knows what we may have missed?).

The group then hiked their way southward, to a den thatcarries the name South Wash Rat Den. The sleet continued tosandblast the flesh off our bodies, to the tempo of chatteringteeth and knocking knees. We plunged our way into SouthWash, observing as we did an entire city of Mesquite and PaloVerde lean-tos. These were created by using trash bags, tarps,and limbs sawed and stacked. Mexico City has less recent urbandevelopment than did South Wash on this day. We figured thesedwellings were part of the illegal traffic that we were supposedto be watchful for.

Miller doesn’t use GPS quadrants. They are for pussies. It’smuch more fun to drag eight people through a wash whilstfretting and apologizing that the den is hard to find. Just aboutthe time that he was ready for despair --- and suffer multiple stabwounds of varying depths in the process, the familiar meter-highstack of Neotoma debris came into view.

Like Turner’s Den, South Wash Rat Den has no businessbeing a den at all. It violates more rules than Turner’s Den, and

yet holds more atrox than Turner’s. It is a Packrat Cholla/stickmidden that stands a meter tall, by about 1.5 meters wide. Themidden is packed against a steep wash cut, has multiple en-trances that lead into said wash cut, and faces due north. Tofurther defy the book of rules that snakes don’t read, a toweringmesquite casts shade over the site.

Here we saw two atrox. One was a skinny male poised on topcenter of the midden. The other was a female coiled on the washbottom at the west edge of the midden. The skinny male had hissnout buried in his coils, head titling downward, drinking lustilyof the accumulation of sleet and rain on his flank (Figure 3).While we watched this, a smallish head appeared among thecoils of this male. This head belonged to yet another female,who was rising out of the depths of the midden to join the maleup top. She spooked, he spooked, the other she spooked, and allcrawled slowly back into the recesses of the den. The male thathad been drinking gave pause to do some courtship head-jerkson the flank of the female as they retreated together.

Eleven down, nine to go. Against impossible odds, Miller’soutrageous goal of 20 was beginning to look feasible.

The group herped their way through South Wash, with oneTree Lizard (Urosaurus ornatus) being found under a smallsheet of tin. The poor thing was as black as charcoal, and as stiffas a groom on his wedding night.

Once again, the gang of nine hopped into their respectivevehicles. They were next en route to a den called 3-DPR, andanother named Fluorite Mine Den. Getting to both places con-sisted of driving down nearly impassable, rutted roads thateventually petered out. From that point, it was a half-mile hiketo get there. A new crop of storm clouds blew in, fiercer thananything we had experienced thus far. The wind was howlingdirectly into our faces, pelting us with stinging sleet. Andthough the weather obliterated anything more than ten feet infront of us, we continued on. To say we did so without com-plaint would be a flat-out lie. By this time, we were reduced towhimpering, mewing little wussies, with no more backbone thana chocolate éclair. But nevertheless . . . we continued on. We had20 atrox to find. And besides that, if the ectotherms could takeit, so could we!

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3-DPR yielded three more atrox --- one out drinking. Weexplored an area known as the Beehive Den, where Bud Litefound an atrox in a vertical crevice, drinking seepage that wasflowing down the sides of the tight chamber it was in. FluoriteMine yielded one atrox in the shaft, and two more exposed anddrinking. The last atrox was a large male, coiled well away fromany shelter. The sleet was barreling down on him so hard that itwas actually bouncing off his flanks. Nevertheless, wherever awet spot remained, there went his snout. His forked blacktongue would slowly lap up said water spots, before moving onto the next. By this time, the storm had reached its apex. Therain and sleet were coming down so hard and fast that we darednot take our cameras out.

Eighteen down, two to go. And then came the wuss. Wewould settle for the 18. By the time we got to the vehicles again,the wind had died, and once again, large snowflakes begangently descending on the landscape. While we were all cold,wet, and miserable, we all appreciated the rarity of the freakstorm we were witnessing.

The group split to go their separate ways. Bud Lite andMiller Highlife had two options: go sit at a tavern, or continueonward into the snowstorm. We opted for the latter, and gooned

up five more atrox, a Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molos-

sus), a Western Lyresnake (Trimorphodon lambda), and aWestern Banded Gecko (Coleonyx variegatus). Despite theimpossible weather, the 19 March 2006 field trip yielded thevery best herp totals of the entire year.

This herper always keeps the tune of the day in his headwhen engaged in fieldwork. Said tune is usually influenced bythe surrounding conditions. A few words from the ditty of theday that I could not shake are in order here. In tribute to theeight stoic souls who joined me this day, I include a fewsnatches from the 1970 hit song “Ride Captain Ride” as per-formed by the Blues Image:

Ride, captain, ride upon your mystery ship,Be amazed at the friends you have here on this tripRide, captain, ride upon your mystery ship,On your way to a world that others might have missed

The great eight who accompanied me on this stormy daywere all truly amazing. And thanks to their willingness to goalong with it all, we witnessed a world that others definitelywould have missed.

This here is Roger Repp, signing off from Southern Arizona,where the turtles are strong, the snakes are handsome, and thelizards are all above average.

References

A less colorful, more scientific rendering of this account can be found here:

Repp, R. A., and G. W. Schuett. 2008. Western diamond-backed rattlesnakes, Crotalus atrox (Serpentes: Viperidae), gain water byharvesting and drinking rain, sleet, and snow. The Southwestern Naturalist 53(1):108-114.

For further background information on the overwintering habits of herpetofauna in Arizona:

Repp, R. A. 1998. Wintertime observations on five species of reptiles in the Tucson area: Shelter site selections / fidelity to shelter sites /notes on behavior. Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 33(3):49-56.

Unofficial Minutes of the CHS Board Meeting, June 12, 2015

President John Archer called the meeting to order at 7:32 P.M.Board members Ed Huether, Aaron LaForge, Andy Malawy,Colleen Schwarz and Mike Scott were absent.

Officers’ Reports

Recording Secretary: Rachel Fessler read the minutes of theMay 15 board meeting.

Treasurer: In the absence of Andy Malawy, Mike Dloogatchpresented the financial report.

Membership Secretary: Mike D. read the list of membershipsdue to expire. The membership count continues to decline.

Committee Reports

Upcoming shows:• Notebaert Nature Museum, first full weekend of each month.• Raging Waves Waterpark, Yorkville, June 20.

• Rockin’ for Reptiles at Midwest Museum of Natural History,Sycamore, June 27, 11 A.M.–3 P.M.• Sheffield Garden Walk, Lincoln Park, July 18–19.• Museum of Science and Industry Members’ Night, July 22.• Green Fair on the Fox, Batavia, August 8, 9 A.M.• Bug Fest at Red Oak Nature Center, Batavia, August 22, 9 A.M.–2 P.M.• UnityFest, Marquette Park, August 22, 10 A.M.–3 P.M.• Westmont Pet Promenade, September 14, 10 A.M.–3 P.M.

Junior Herpers: There were 33 people in attendance for the June 7 Jr. Herpers meeting.

New Business

John Archer reported that we are still in need of a ReptileFestvenue for the coming year; NEIU may be an option.

The meeting adjourned at 8:34 P.M.

Respectfully submitted by Rachel Fessler

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Justin Michels and Don Becker. Photograph by Dick Buchholz.

Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 50(7):107-108, 2015

What You Missed at the May Meeting

John Archerj-archer@sbcglobal.net

What is the impulse to document?Why does nearly everyone I knowwhip out a camera at nearly everyfind? Not for the fourteenth cotton-mouth on Snake Road, but certainlyfor the first or largest, or a nice tim-ber, or a rough greensnake slidingthrough the brush. I take perhaps theworst photos in the world. I celebratewhen I have most of the importantparts in focus. And yet, I’m prey tothis impulse also. My incompetenceprevents me from being a full-fledgedsnake paparazzo, and I will often letthe more accomplished (everyone)take photos of a found subject and then beg to borrow their pictures, but I will also frequently snatch a “voucher” photobefore the real pros move in. I have no Flicker or Instagramaccount (thankfully), and I would never put my photos on theField Herp Forum. I will not build a photo album on my com-puter and certainly not a paper album. I don’t give lectures, andif I did, I would borrow others’ photos so the audience wouldnot be subjected to mine. I don’t know why I take them, but Iknow that it gives me pleasure to occasionally review even mycrappy photos and remind myself of interesting times and exqui-site events. All too often the pictures get moved to a hard driveor a CD and are rarely viewed again. So, why bother, and whatcould I do with them?

Our May speakers presented me with an answer, and if Iovercome my lazy and irresponsible ways, I think I may beparticipating. Justin Michels and Don Becker overcame trafficjams and auto breakdowns to give us insight into what Justin haslabeled “merping.” I am not going to use that word, becauseonly someone with much greater self-confidence and strongerself-image than I could tell anyone he was going merping.Seriously. We need another word. But the idea is great. DonBecker and Justin Michels are both inveterate field herpers whoknow their way around computers. They are dedicated to con-serving herps and educating the public about them. Frequentcontributors to fieldherpforum.com, they take excellent photo-graphs. They wanted to convince us that it is important for us toparticipate in citizen science projects and explain a way that wecould easily accomplish that.

Justin wanted to set the stage for Don’s talk, so he talkedabout what we as individuals could contribute to herpetologyand why it was important, especially in Illinois, which ranks49th among the states in percent of land remaining in originalvegetation. Range extensions and rediscoveries of protectedspecies in new areas can allow new and critical habitat to beprotected. Government organizations do not have the manpoweror budgets to survey as much territory as all amateur herperscan. Most herpers document their finds, usually with photos, but

few make use of those pictures. Justingave us specific examples of caseswhere a herper’s observations have ledto extra protection. And he remindedus that some landowners allow privateindividuals on their land but not any-one from government. I would hopethat Justin was preaching to the choir,but it never hurts to be reminded thatwe can make a difference. I have lessfaith in the efficacy of appeals for ef-forts towards a cause rather than ap-peals to our own self-interests, so I’llpresent their talk a bit differently fromhow Justin and Don presented.

Don devised the naherp.com site associated with Scott Wa-ters’s good works but was not satisfied with all its features orlimitations, so he created herpmapper.org. It’s a site that willallow you to keep a life list of all your finds, including locationsand other data. A photo voucher can be taken with your smartphone or downloaded from your computer, and if your cameraor phone is so equipped, it will automatically record the date,time, and location. You add any notes that you wish. You haveaccess to all the data and photos you have entered. Don’t knowthe species? Leave that box blank. Herpmapper works withherpetologists around the world to aid in the identification.Location is critical and needs to be fairly precise. That’s noproblem if being downloaded from your camera or phone, butthe app incorporates a map that allows you to click on the loca-tion if you need to load the location manually. You can searchall of the data by various criteria, including date, time, taxon,and even location, but only down to county level if the postingis not yours. Want to know what you’ve found between 11 A.M.and 4 P.M.? You can do that. Want to see all the spots yourecorded in Google Earth? You can do that. How many six-linedracerunners have you recorded? Easy. This site excites even aterrible photographer such as myself because it’s not about thequality of the photo but the data.

So has Don put this site together to help us all keep a betterlife list? No. Don sees himself as a middle man, acquiring datafrom field herpers and supplying it to organizations and individ-uals doing legitimate research. Now, I know there are those ofyou who are super paranoid about exposing your favorite sites.If you’re really paranoid, there is nothing I can say to assure youthat your info is safe but I think Don convinced me that this siteis as secure as humanly possible. Only the original poster andadmins can see all the details of a record. Others can viewlocality only to the county level. The app even strips the EXIFdata from your photos so no one can access that info from yourposted photo. The administrators now are Don, Mike Pingleton,and Christopher E. Smith. I think those three have enoughcredibility in the herp world that there is no danger of them

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stealing your sites. The data partners, as Don calls the primaryusers, are accredited organizations engaged in research, conser-vation and protection of herpetofauna such as Arizona Gameand Fish Department and the Orianne Society. A complete listof the partners currently signed up can be found on the web site.Any of the data partners only has access to the data that ispertinent to a particular request, and every request is vettedbefore being approved. Data storage is designed with long-termsecurity in mind at an IBM secure data center that includesarmed guards. Secondary and tertiary back-ups exist at otherlocations. The data security is up-to-date and multi-layered.

Don set up this site knowing the need for extensive datacollection available to the proper researchers over the long term.I can’t repeat all the facts and figures that Justin and Don hit uswith, but I tend to be a bit of a cynic and they convinced me thatthis is a valuable site. I’ve already posted a few of my photos

just to try it out. I didn’t use the phone app because I don’t havea smart phone, but the computer entry is easy and it’s fun toplay around with the data. This is not the only site that hassimilar goals, but it is the only worldwide herp-specific site thatI can find. Don didn’t disparage other sites. Indeed, the phoneapp will also post to naherp.com. If I want to post other animalsor in other places there is inaturalist.org or projectnoah.org. Donencourages you to use whatever platform you like in addition toherpmapper.org. But Justin and Don convinced me that herp-mapper is a valuable addition to data collection sites, particu-larly for herps. While I don’t consider myself a technologicalLuddite (there are probably people who would argue with that),even without a smart phone I can easily load photos and recordsto the site. And it’s fun. Doing some good for the animals we allcare about just got a lot easier. Check it out at herpmapper.org.Thanks, Justin and Don.

Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 50(7):108-109, 2015

What You Missed at the June Meeting

John Archerj-archer@sbcglobal.net

Show and tell is always a popular meeting. Seems many ofus really enjoy showing off our animals. But it’s hard to writeup because anything I try tends to look like a list that shouldhave numbers and bullet points. Maybe I should write it up thatway some time, but not this time. This time I want to deal withphilosophy a bit.

No, don’t throw down your Bulletin in fear of having towade through my meanderings on the meaning of life. (It’s 42.)I’m not smart enough to even fake an intelligent and intelligiblediatribe about any subject that requires deep thinking, but I doon occasion think, and sometimes I think about your society andwhy it exists. I know we have a mission statement and I knowwe do good work, but what does this organization really do?

It’s no secret that many regional herp societies have ceasedto exist and most others are struggling. I suppose there aremultiple reasons, but I’m going to blame the internet. Thingschange and the internet certainly has changed the way we inter-act with one another. Perhaps we no longer feel the need toattend a meeting to get the information we need about particularanimals. If you search long enough you can probably find aforum that has at least an occasional expert that will weigh inwith answers to nearly any question you have. Determining whois the expert and who has the correct answer is difficult, but Idon’t have to call someone or wait until the next meeting to atleast find an answer, and with a little effort I can probably find acorrect answer. It’s fast, easy, and I don’t have to embarrassmyself by exposing my stupidity.

So meeting attendance decreases and our membership num-bers drop (gradually, but they’re dropping). But one of ourbetter-attended meetings is Show and Tell, and ReptileFestdraws hundreds of volunteers for two days, many of whom will

never attend a monthly meeting. I could say that most of us justlike to show off our animals, but I think the appeal of those twoevents goes deeper. We do many small live-animal showsthroughout the year and it’s often difficult to find memberswilling to fill slots. What is the common denominator betweenReptileFest and Show and Tell that make both events popular,other than getting to talk about our animals? We get to talk topeople who are truly interested. At both events the audienceself-selects for interest in herps, and much of the fun in thosetwo events is the sharing of information that one only getsthrough face-to-face contact. The audience and the presentersare both learning. What I don’t feel most people understand issharing happens with every speaker we have. If you’re there inperson you can ask questions, clarify points, and even arguewith the speaker. And usually the learning continues after themeeting with more personal interactions over food and libations.I still believe that meetings and speakers are valuable, but Imight find I’m wrong.

So here’s what you missed at the June meeting. ColleenSchwarz showed off her first native herp, an unsettled bull snakethat proclaimed its dissatisfaction with very loud hissing. Arehomed ten-year-old, Colleen named him Bullwinkle and, likemany bull snakes, he appeared vicious but was all bluff. JeremyBrowning brought his seven-year-old, weighty albino Burmesepython that, because of its typical docility, he often uses as anambassador for snakes. He keeps the animal in a very large cageand is anticipating the animal’s growth. Tim Jarvis showed offhis “opinionated” Chinese rat snake. Tim was a little surprisedwhen he wasn’t showered with musk or even bitten. The beauti-ful snake behaved well for our pleasure. Nancy Kloskowskibrought another, quieter, bull snake and an active, three-year-old captive-born fox snake. She named the fox snake Thunder.

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Colleen Schwarz holds her loudly hissing bull snake --- her first nativereptile at her first Show and Tell. John Archer helps out by holding themicrophone. Photograph by Dick Buchholz.

Jeremy Browning (L) displays his albino Burmese python with the helpof Tim Jarvis. The placid animal is a star of Jeremy’s reptile shows.Photograph by Dick Buchholz.

Bemoaning the fact that his Mexican burrowing “python” (Loxocemusbicolor) was opaque, Frank Sladek nevertheless held a beautiful snake.Photograph by Dick Buchholz.

Dick Buchholz had us all guessing an ID with a “jungle” cornsnake. I’m not a fan of weird hybrids, but this adopted snakewas impressive looking. Dick says that the information providedto him claimed the snake was 50% corn, 25% Cal king, and25% Sinaloan milksnake. Dick uses the snake frequently whenhe does shows. Another show volunteer, Onnie Jonas, displayedthe rescued boa constrictor that she acquired after finally con-vincing her parents to allow her to keep one. Molly Carlson andher mother Teresa Savino showed off a pair of rescued iguanasthat were originally supposed to have a short stay with them buthave become established members of the household. One had anamputated leg and missing digits and was certainly under sized,but seemed to have a nice personality and active life. The otheriguana, named Don Juan, would stand on two legs to get a pieceof banana, and seemed to be always looking for treats. ElizaSullivan talked about her adopted Dumeril’s boa and its nicetemperament. Native to Madagascar, she said they eat every-thing from bats to lemurs, but in captivity she feeds it rats. Herfather Steve Sullivan brought another member of the boa family,a boa constrictor, and talked about using the different boas hehas to talk about biogeography and the interesting distribution of

boas around the world. He also discussed the dramatic colorchanges his animal goes through, though he has not discovered apattern in the causes of change. Lawrence Huddleston showedoff two very calm black-and-white tegus and a boa, noting thatthey all need large cages and travel to many shows. A lovely,iridescent Mexican burrowing python accompanied FrankSladek, who explained that the snake was blue and therefore notas iridescent as normal, was native to Mexico and CentralAmerica, and was fossorial but not really a python. They’vebeen documented to feed on sea turtle eggs. A corpulent Kenyansand boa gave Joan Moore an opportunity to explore husbandryand the amount we feed our animals, making a point that thisanimal had only been fed twice so far this year and yet managedto maintain her weight. Ben Podolske showed a snake and alittle box turtle, while his friend Christian Benz brought the onlyamphibian of the evening, a blue-spotted salamander found inhis back yard. With that the evening came to an end.

But your society continues, at least for a while. The CHS stillperforms educational shows, including ReptileFest. We distrib-ute grants. The Bulletin is published. We encourage kids’ inter-est in herpetology through Jr. Herpers. We try to rehome un-wanted animals through our adoption programs. The majority ofanimals at this meeting were adoptions or rescues. We bring inspeakers to our meetings who educate, enlighten, and sometimesenthuse. We’re on Facebook and Twitter and expanding ouronline presence. To continue to do these things we need you.Come to the meetings. Write for this Bulletin. Volunteer for ashow. Help with Jr. Herpers. Next year we’ll present the Mid-west Herpetological Symposium to celebrate our 50th anniver-sary. Get involved. You can help and we’d like to meet you.

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Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 50(7):110-111, 2015

Herpetology 2015

In this column the editorial staff presents short abstracts of herpetological articles we have found of interest. This is not an attemptto summarize all of the research papers being published; it is an attempt to increase the reader’s awareness of what herpetologistshave been doing and publishing. The editor assumes full responsibility for any errors or misleading statements.

PLOIDY-VARIABLE UNISEXUAL SALAMANDERS

C. Teltser and K. R. Greenwald [2015, Herpetologica 71(2):81-87] note that populations of unisexual Ambystoma salaman-ders typically consist of ploidy-variable individuals (diploidthrough pentaploid) that differ in their proportional representa-tion within the populations. These salamanders reproduce usinga method that has been termed kleptogenesis: stealing geneticmaterial from males of compatible bisexual Ambystoma species(e.g., Jefferson Salamanders [A. jeffersonianum] and Blue-spotted Salamanders [A. laterale]). Kleptogenesis can result inploidy-variable embryos within an egg mass because the unisex-ual female might or might not incorporate the male genome.Little is known about the survivorship of individuals havingdifferent ploidy levels. Triploid individuals are most abundant,indicating that higher ploidy individuals (tetraploids andpentaploids) are either produced more rarely, or suffer highermortality than triploids. The authors assessed the frequency ofploidy levels (determined by microsatellite analysis) across fourlife-history stages over 2 yr: adults, early larvae, late larvae, andmetamorphosed juveniles. It was found that warmer breeding-season temperatures were correlated with an increased frequencyof high-ploidy individuals being produced. In addition, therewas a gradual decline in tetraploids across all stages as thelarvae developed into adults. Breeding season temperature andselection against certain ploidy levels both appear to be impor-tant drivers of unisexual salamander population composition atthe authors’ study site.

HIGH ELEVATION WESTERN POND TURTLES

D. J. Germano and J. D. Riedle [2015, Herpetologica 71(2):102-109] note that western pond turtles (Actinemys [Emys]marmorata) occur in habitats ranging from large rivers andreservoirs to small streams and ponds, as well as from sea levelto about 2000-m elevation. This range of environments canaffect population parameters such as body size, growth rates,survivorship, and reproductive output. The authors marked 321individuals in 287 trap-days in 2007 and 2010 at a high-eleva-tion pond on the southern flank of the Tehachapi Mountains insouthern California. The population was female-biased (92 F:78 M in 2007, 113 F:60 M in 2010), and estimated to contain412 individuals. Growth rates were relatively high comparedwith other populations of A. marmorata. Monthly survivorshipwas 0.989–1.000 for adults and juveniles and ë values denoted astable population. Clutch size averaged 6.3 eggs, and the authorsfound 22 instances of intra-annual double-clutching, and possi-bly a third clutch for one female. Population traits of turtles atthis high-elevation pond differed little from turtles at lowerelevation sites at the same latitude. Despite conservation threatsto this species, this population is indicative that A. marmorata

can survive well in small habitats, many of which are human-created, and this has increased the amount of habitat for thespecies as other natural areas have been eliminated.

SOFTSHELLS IN A PROTECTED ECOSYSTEM

E. C. Munscher et al. [2015, Chelonian Conservation and Biol-ogy 14(1):34-42] note that the Florida softshell turtle, Apalone

ferox (Schneider 1783) is considered common and easily visiblein many freshwater habitats throughout its range. However, verylittle population research has been completed on the species dueto difficulties associated with capture and long-term marking.The authors have conducted a mark–recapture study of thisspecies since 2007 as part of a long-term freshwater turtle popu-lation monitoring program at Wekiwa Springs State Park,Apopka, Florida. From 2007 to 2012 they captured 56 individ-ual Florida softshell turtles with 101 total captures. The male:female ratio was 1:2.6 and females were larger than males.Population estimates were 92 adults and 49 juveniles with atotal estimate of 141 Florida softshell turtles in the 2.67-ha studysite. These data from a protected population centrally locatedwithin the species range provide a baseline for comparison toother populations.

NORTHERN PINESNAKES IN DISTURBED HABITATS

R. M. Smith et al. [2015, Herpetologica 71(1):19-25] note thatthe decline in snake populations has been attributed primarily toanthropogenic disturbances, including habitat destruction andfragmentation. The authors radio-tracked northern pinesnakes(Pituophis m. melanoleucus) in a military Target Zone and inthe surrounding undisturbed buffer zone at the Warren GroveGunnery Range in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, to examinedifferences in spatial movement patterns and behavior. Therewere no differences in home range size (x) = 60.0 ± 32.7 ha),core activity area (x) = 10.6 ± 8.2 ha), range length (x) = 1294.8 ±32.7 m), or mean distance traveled per day (x) = 65.2 ± 30.1 m)across all snakes, or between sexes (male n = 13, female n = 11),or location within (n = 13) or outside (n = 11) of the TargetZone. However, there were differences between tracking years.Northern pinesnakes in 2005 and 2006 (n = 13) traveled greatertotal distance and mean distance per day and had larger homeranges compared to snakes radio-tracked in 2003 and 2004 (n =11). In 2005 and 2006, snakes in the Target Zone traveledlonger distances compared to snakes outside the Target Zone.Pinesnakes used both the Target Zone and undisturbed bufferzone for mating, nesting, foraging, and hibernating. Althoughthe Target Zone was disturbed regularly, the open-canopiedlandscape, cover availability, and sandy soils maintained habitatfor northern pinesnakes. Our data indicate that the militarydisturbance had little impact on the spatial ecology of northernpinesnakes; the disturbed area supported enough natural habitatfeatures used by northern pinesnakes and was surrounded by alarge tract of undisturbed landscape. These data can aid indeveloping mitigation and conservation strategies where thehabitat of northern pinesnakes is threatened by development, inparticular, across other military installations, which commonlyoverlap with the occurance of northern pinesnakes.

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A STABLE SEA TURTLE POPULATION

S. Derville et al. [2015, Chelonian Conservation and Biology14(1):11-20] report that the island of Tromelin, about 500 kmoff the Malagasy east coast, is a key nesting site for the endan-gered green turtle, Chelonia mydas, in the southwestern IndianOcean. Nesting turtles found in this isolated island have beenclosely monitored since the 1970s, but the most recent estimatesof nesting parameters date from 1986. Using mark–recapturedata, track counts, and nests monitoring data collected over the2009/2010 nesting peak, reproductive characteristics, populationsize, and offspring production were updated and discussed in thelight of the track survey undertaken from 1986 to 2010. Femalesshowed a consistent reproductive behaviour compared withprevious studies in terms of clutch frequency (2.75 ± 1.46) andnesting success (0.65). Nest indices such as hatching success(0.76 ± 0.25) and emergence success (0.61 ± 0.33) were alsoincluded in the range of values calculated in the 1980s. Theestimated number of nesters and production in eggs and hatch-lings were similar to older estimates, suggesting a relative demo-graphic stability. For the 2009/2010 year-long nesting season,the size of the nesting population was estimated at about 1500individuals, which produced around 480,900 eggs (± 103,900),resulting in 289,200 emerging hatchlings (± 152,000). Theseresults are promising and support the effectiveness of conserva-tion measures undertaken in the Iles Eparses, but further compa-rable monitoring is needed in the coming years to confirm thestability in Tromelin’s green turtle nesting population.

TURTLE HOTSPOTS

R. A. Mittermeier et al. [2015, Chelonian Conservation andBiology 14(1):2-10] analyzed the taxon richness and endemismof tortoises and freshwater turtles in the world’s premierbiodiversity conservation priority areas and countries withgreatest turtle richness. Turtle hotspots include biodiversityhotspots (BHS), high-biodiversity wilderness areas (HBWA),and additional turtle priority areas (TPA) previously identified.They present taxon richness and endemism values for the 16turtle hotspots with highest richness and endemicity. These 16turtle hotspots together contain 262 species (83% of total), ofwhich 149 (47%) are endemic to these areas combined, and 134species (43%) are endemic to just a single priority area. At theterminal taxon (subspecies) level, these 16 areas harbor 342 taxa(79%), of which 210 (48%) are endemic to these combinedareas, and 195 (45%) are endemic to a single priority area.These 16 BHS, HBWA, and TPA account for less than 24million square kilometers, or 16.0% of planet Earth’s landsurface, with an estimated 10.4 million square kilometers oforiginal habitat remaining, or 7.0% of the planet’s land surface.Twenty-one countries are recorded to harbor 15 or more speciesof non-marine turtles, with the percentage of endemic speciesranging from 0% to 88%. Collectively, these 21 countries areinhabited by 275 (87%) species and 352 (81%) taxa, of which115 (37%) species and 175 (40%) taxa are endemic to just asingle country. Identification of these conservation priority areasand countries should assist conservation of turtles worldwide byfocusing on areas where the greatest number of species and taxacan be secured and where the authorities and institutions thatexist hope to accomplish these goals.

MONITORING EASTERN SPADEFOOTS

K. J. Ryan et al. [2015, J. Herpetology 49(2):257-263] note thateastern spadefoots (Scaphiopus holbrookii) are probably one ofthe least-understood amphibian species in the United States. InNew England, populations are localized and it is likely thatsome populations go undocumented because of the species’cryptic habits. The authors used passive integrated transponders(PIT tags) to monitor burrow emergence with the aid of continu-ously running, stationary (but portable) PIT tag readers. Theactivity of individual eastern spadefoots was monitored byplacing circular antennae directly over burrows of PIT tag-implanted individuals. Eighteen eastern spadefoots were moni-tored from 1 to 84 nights in the spring, summer, and fall of2009–2011. Results indicate that, on average, eastern spadefootsemerged on 43% of the nights that they were monitored. Nightswhen eastern spadefoots emerged were warmer and more humidthan nonemergence nights. Eastern spadefoots were also muchmore likely to emerge on a given night if they had emerged thenight before. These results have improved the understanding ofeastern spadefoot burrow-emergence patterns in the northeastregion. The findings may considerably enhance the prospect ofemploying nocturnal visual encounter surveys as a method formonitoring known, and detecting previously undocumented,populations of this species.

SEA SNAKE ABUNDANCE

H. B. Lillywhite et al. [2015, J. Herpetology 49(2):184-189]quantified the abundance of pelagic sea snakes, Hydrophis (=Pelamis) platurus, while following slicks that formed drift linesduring 3 yr of research in the Golfo de Papagayo, Costa Rica.The number of snakes observed floating on slicks varied greatlyand ranged from 0 to 1,029 per hour. The largest number ob-served was highly unusual in recent experience but comparableto earlier reports of sea snake aggregations in the historicalliterature. Snakes were more abundant on slicks with flotsamduring early morning hours on clear, calm days. However, “deci-sions” of sea snakes to spend time floating on slicks are alsoinfluenced by other factors that are not known or are poorlyunderstood. Neither temperature nor salinity influenced thenumber of snakes observed within the range of the parametersencountered. Only a single snake was observed during 13 daysof searching during which there were red tide conditions withcold and turbid water disturbed almost daily by high winds. Theauthors also counted floating snakes at the inner basin of theGolfo Dulce in southern Costa Rica, where the population of H. platurus contains almost exclusively xanthic (all-yellow)individuals. These snakes are behaviorally different and aremost-commonly observed while floating at night, without anystrong association with slicks. Mean counts of these xanthicsnakes suggest the abundance of pelagic sea snakes is essentiallysimilar in Golfo Dulce (21.4 ± 4.4 snakes/h) and Golfo dePapagayo (19.3 ± 4.4 snakes/h, neglecting the single, unusuallyhigh count of 1,029 snakes/h).

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Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 50(7):112-115, 2015

In Memoriam: Philip A. Cochran

Dreux J. WatermolenBureau of Science Services

Wisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesPO Box 7921

Madison, WI 53707-7921dreux.watermolen@wisconsin.gov

Long-time CHS member Dr. PhilipA. Cochran of Winona, Minnesota,died at age 59 on March 4, 2015. WithPhil’s death, the herpetological com-munity lost a passionate, brilliant, yethumble ecologist who admired andcared deeply for the fauna and florathat he worked so tirelessly to under-stand and conserve.

Phil attended St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota,as an undergraduate and received his bachelor’s degree in 1977.While at SMU, Phil wrote a senior thesis on the feeding habitsand length-weight relationships in spiny softshell turtles (Apa-

lone spinifera) from the Upper Mississippi River. Under thedirection of his advisor, David R. McConville, Phil collecteddata on softshells from the Weaver Bottoms, Fountain City Baybackwaters, and Sam Gordy’s Slough during two summers.Always meticulous in his data collection, Phil obtained stomachsamples for analysis of food habits and recorded various mor-phological data. His work was later published in the Journal of

Herpetology (Cochran and McConville, 1983). As was typicalof Phil, he kept an eye out for herps during his undergraduateyears and took detailed field notes that later turned into descrip-tions of the local faunal assemblages (Cochran, 1986c, 1987).

Following his years at SMU, Phil attended the University ofMinnesota, where he earned his Masters of Science in 1980 witha thesis focused on seasonal aspects of daily ration and diet oflargemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) (Cochran andAdelman, 1982). Phil then went on to earn a Ph.D. from theUniversity of Wisconsin in 1984, under the direction of James F.Kitchell, for his work on the foraging behavior of parasiticlampreys (Cochran, 1985, 1986a; Cochran and Kitchell, 1986,1989). While at the UW, Phil coauthored the Best Student Paperpresented at the annual meeting of the American FisheriesSociety in 1982. Although his graduate studies focused onfishes, Phil continued to carefully record his amphibian andreptile observations and report on the local fauna (e.g., Cochran,1986d, 1988).

In 1984, Phil accepted a tenure track faculty position at St.Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. There he taught intro-ductory biology, vertebrate biology, limnology, and variousspecial topic courses. He obtained the rank of associate profes-sor in 1991. In 1997 and 1998, he also taught summer sessionsat the University of Wisconsin’s Pigeon Lake Field Station inDrummond, Wisconsin.

It was at SNC that I first met Phil in the mid-1980s. He wasan energetic and engaging professor. As a teaching assistant inthe biology department, I had the joy of helping maintain Phil’s

“wet lab,” an impressive and complex room-sized aquariumsystem that he had helped design and install. I also had theprivilege of occasionally caring for some of Phil’s captive rep-tiles: an aging, visually impaired eastern hog-nosed snake (Het-

erodon platirhinos) that he housed in a large aquarium atop thefiling cabinets in his book-filled office (Cochran, 1986b, 1994),a rather large and old snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) thatlived in a children’s swimming pool in the greenhouse atop thecampus science building, a spectacled caiman (Caiman croco-

dilus) with a missing front foot, and a four-foot-long, adoptedwestern fox snake (Pantherophis vulpinus) that had a propensityto escape. Phil displayed a deep respect for these animals andemphasized the importance of humane care in all teaching,laboratory, and field operations.

Phil returned to St. Mary’s University in 2000 as a professorin the biology department, serving as that department’s chairsince 2004 and as acting Associate Dean of Mathematics andSciences in 2011 and 2012. While at SMU, he continued hislegacy of inspiring students, teaching environmental biology,herpetology, ichthyology, zoology, plant communities andtaxonomy, earth science, and sustainable resource management.He also led the department’s fisheries biology, freshwater ecol-ogy, and limnology labs.

Phil was a consummate naturalist whose interests covered awide range of questions concerning the ecology, geographicdistribution, and conservation of animals and plants. He was aprolific author, having produced hundreds of scientific notes,articles, and book chapters, including more than 30 items in theCHS Bulletin (see Appendix). His works address lampreys(Petromyzontidae), timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus),mudpuppies (Necturus maculosus), wood turtles (Glyptemys

insculpta), paddlefish (Polyodon spathula), parasitic catfish,fish lice (Argululs japonicus), and horsehair worms (Nemato-morpha), among others. He also co-authored a book about thefishes of Wisconsin (Lyons et al., 2000). Phil conducted most ofhis research in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but also traveled,making observations, taking careful notes, and often reportingfindings from his adventures elsewhere: Mexico (Cochran et al.,1996; Lyons et al., 1996), Panama (Cochran and Hodgson,1997), and Peru (Cochran, 1991). In 1990, SNC recognizedPhil’s scholarship with its Donald B. King DistinguishedScholar award. In addition to the CHS, Phil was a member ofthe American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists,American Fisheries Society, and Society for the Study of Am-phibians and Reptiles.

Phil enjoyed taking students into the field and challengedthem to be biologists. Field trips to local wetlands (Cochran,2012) and the Mississippi River bluffs to learn about plants, toWeaver Dunes to catch and observe reptiles, and to various

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creeks to sample fish were common. His creative lessons in-cluded an “edible final” for which students were served variousfish dishes. He then asked the students to write everything theyknew about each fish! Phil was a wonderful mentor who in-volved students in his research as much as possible, knowingthat the experiences prepared them to be better learners, teach-ers, scholars, and citizens. He encouraged his students to publishtheir work, leading to numerous co-authored papers with stu-dents (e.g., Basten and Cochran, 1991; Cochran et al., 1992;Lamarre and Cochran, 1992; Cochran and Marks, 1995).

On a personal note, Phil introduced me to the complexitiesand intricacies of ecological relationships: parasites and theirhosts, prey and their predators, parents and their offspring, andorganisms and their environments. He taught me the value ofcareful observation, importance of maintaining good field notes,and usefulness of preserving and depositing voucher specimens.Phil also had a playful sense of humor. I recall one time whenwe taped a reprint of a colleague’s journal article to the bottomof a bird cage and presented it to that friend with a smile andhumorous note suggesting that “that’s about all the paper wasgood for.” Phil’s unassuming nature made him easy to bearound. Because of that, it was sometimes easy for others toforget just how brilliant he was.

First and foremost, Phil was a family man. He took his chil-dren into the field to explore nature and even coauthored anumber of publications with them (e.g., Cochran and Cochran,1999; A. Cochran et al., 2001, Kinziger et al., 2002, Cochranand Cochran, 2007). He spent the past two Minnesota summers,

often accompanied by his wife Michelle, tracking bull snakes(Pituophis catenifer sayi) at Weaver Dunes.

Phil had a fondness for timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horri-

dus). He served on the team that helped develop Minnesota’sTimber Rattlesnake Recovery Plan (Minnesota DNR, 2009) andvolunteered as a rattlesnake responder. In this latter role, Philprovided property owners an alternative to killing unwantedrattlesnakes and was able to rescue many individuals of thisprotected species by removing them from people’s yards andrelocating them out of harm’s way. As with all life forms, Philhad a deep reverence for these often misunderstood and shycreatures, and viewed this service as allowing for positive inter-actions and educational opportunities.

One cannot conclude an in memoriam piece for Phil Cochranwithout mentioning his love of basketball, both as player andfan. At Saint Norbert’s and Saint Mary’s, Phil regularly partici-pated in “noon ball,” thrilling everyone with his lefty hook shot.Those who played with Phil will always have a “Phil story.”

As many students and colleagues attest, Phil was a dedicatedherpetologist/ichthyologist, inspirational teacher, energeticcollaborator, and dear friend. Phil showed us how to work hardand enjoy life. For all of this, he will be missed.

A memorial service for Phil was held on March 14 on theSMU campus. He is survived by his wife, Michelle; his children,Joe, Andy, Jenny, Jesse, and Gus; his grandchildren, El and Isla;his siblings, Cathy, Chris, Randy, and Cindy, and many friendsand colleagues.

Literature Cited

Basten, D. J., and P. A. Cochran. 1991. The effect of a fish medication on Argulus japonicus, a crustacean parasite of fish. Journal ofFreshwater Ecology 6(4):457-458.

Cochran, A. G., P. A. Cochran, J. A. Cochran and C. D. Knight. 2001. Geographic distribution: Storeria dekayi (brown snake). Herpetological Review 32(4):280.

Cochran, P. A. 1985. Size-selective attack by parasitic lampreys: Consideration of alternate null hypotheses. Oecologia 67(1):137-141.

)))))))). 1986a. Attachment sites of parasitic lampreys: Comparisons among species. Environmental Biology of Fishes 17(1):91-79.

)))))))). 1986b. Feeding an eastern hognose snake in a college laboratory setting. Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 21(3-4):96.

)))))))). 1986c. The herpetofauna of the Weaver Dunes, Wabasha County, Minnesota, USA. Prairie Naturalist 18(3):143-150.

)))))))). 1986d. Some observations on the herpetofauna of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc.21(1-2):34.

)))))))). 1987. The herpetofauna of the St. Mary's College campus, Winona, Minnesota. Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 22(2):25.

)))))))). 1988. The herpetofaunas of Pheasant Branch and Waunakee Marshes, Dane County, Wisconsin, with a comparison to theintervening agricultural area. Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 23(5):69.

)))))))). 1991. An unusual microhabitat for a fossorial snake in the rainforest of Peru. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science94(1-2):77-78.

)))))))). 1994. A longevity record for the eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos). Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 29(6):117.

)))))))). 2012. The significance of an “insignificant” wetland in Brown County, Wisconsin. Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 47(1):6.

Cochran, P. A., and I. R. Adelman. 1982. Seasonal aspects of daily ration and diet of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), with anevaluation of gastric evacuation rates. Environmental Biology of Fishes 7(3):265-227.

Cochran, P. A., and J. A. Cochran. 1999. Predation on a meadow jumping mouse, Zapus hudsonius, and a house mouse, Mus musculus, bybrown trout, Salmo trutta. Canadian Field-Naturalist 113(4):684-685.

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Cochran, P. A., and J. A. Cochran. 2007. Natural history notes: Bufo americanus (American toad). Predation. Herpetological Review38(2):178.

Cochran, P. A., and J. R. Hodgson. 1997. A note on reproduction by the rainforest hognosed pitviper (Porthidium nasutum) in Panama.Bull. Maryland Herp. Soc. 33:63-64.

Cochran, P. A., and J. F. Kitchell. 1986. Use of modeling to investigate potential feeding strategies of parasitic lampreys. EnvironmentalBiology of Fishes 16(1-3):219-223.

Cochran, P. A., and J. F. Kitchell. 1989. A model of feeding by parasitic lampreys. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences46(11):1845-1852.

Cochran, P. A., A. A. Leisten and M. E. Sneen. 1992. Cases of predation and parasitism on lampreys in Wisconsin. Journal of FreshwaterEcology 7(4):435-436.

Cochran, P. A., J. Lyons and E. Merino-Nambo. 1996. Notes on the biology of the Mexican lampreys Lamptera spadicea and L. geminis

(Agnatha: Petromyzontidae). Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwaters 7(2):173-180.

Cochran, P. A., and J. E. Marks. 1995. Biology of the silver lamprey, Ichthyomyzon unicuspis, in Green Bay and the lower Fox River, witha comparison to the sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus. Copeia 1995(2):409-421.

Cochran, P. A., and D. R. McConville. 1983. Feeding by Trionyx spiniferus in backwaters of the Upper Mississippi River. Journal ofHerpetology 17(1):82-86.

Kinziger, A. P., P. A. Cochran and J. A. Cochran. 2002. Additional cases of predation on horsehair worms (Phylum Nematomorpha), witha recent record for Missouri. Transactions of the Missouri Academy of Science 36:11-13.

Lamarre, E., and P. A. Cochran. 1992. Lack of host species selection by the exotic parasitic crustacean, Argulus japonicas. Journal ofFreshwater Ecology 7(1):77-80.

Lyons, J., P. A. Cochran and D. Fago. 2000. Wisconsin fishes 2000: Status and distribution. Madison: University of Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Lyons, J., O. J. Polaco and P. A. Cochran. 1996. Morphological variation among the Mexican lampreys (Petromyzontidae: Lampetra:subgenus Tetrapleurodon). Southwestern Naturalist 41(4):365-374.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). 2009. Timber Rattlesnake Recovery Plan. St. Paul: Division of EcologicalResources, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Appendix: Bibliography of Works by Philip A. Cochran Published in the CHS Bulletin

Cochran, P. A., B. D. Jones and M. Brosig. 2014. Observations on the ecology of the wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) in northeasternWisconsin. 49(1):4.

Cochran, P. A. 2013. Additional cases of snakes entrapped in garden netting: Pantherophis vulpinus and Crotalus horridus in southeasternMinnesota. 48(10):129.

Cochran, P. A. 2012. The significance of an “insignificant” wetland in Brown County, Wisconsin. 47(1):6.

Cochran, P. A. 2010. Book review: The Old-time River Rats: Tales of Bygone Days along the Wild Mississippi by Kenny Salwey.45(8):127.

Cochran, P. A., and S. J. Schmitt. 2009. Use of remote cameras to monitor rock ledge microhabitat of timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus

horridus). 44(11):161.

Cochran, P. A. 2008. An unusual microhabitat for an American toad (Anaxyrus americanus). 43(4):62.

Cochran, P. A. 2008. Observations on the geographic distribution of some reptiles and amphibians in Illinois. 43(9):141.

Cochran, P. A. 2007. Book review: Kenny Salwey’s Tales of a River Rat: Adventures along the Wild Mississippi by Kenny Salwey.42(8):136.

Cochran, P. A. 2006. Timber rattlesnakes and residential development in fiction and in fact. 41(11):197.

Cochran, P. A. 2004. Food chain with anaconda: William Beebe’s flirtation with an ecological concept. 39(5):81.

Cochran, P. A. 2003. Some cases of herpetological misinformation. 38(12):240.

Cochran, P. A. 2002. Book review: The Last River Rat: Kenny Salwey's Life in the Wild by J. Scott Bestul and Kenny Salwey. 37(1):8.

Cochran, P. A. 2001. Annotated geographic records for some amphibians and reptiles in Wisconsin. 36(11):217.

Cochran, P. A. 1998. Early herpetological observations by a northeastern Wisconsin conservationist. 33(4):73.

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Cochran, P. A. 1995. Book review: Hollows, Peepers, and Highlanders: An Appalachian Mountain Ecology by George Constantz.30(9):193.

Cochran, P. A. 1994. The spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera) at the Wood Dale Grove Forest Preserve, DuPage County, Illinois.29(5):96.

Cochran, P. A. 1994. A longevity record for the eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos). 29(6):117.

Cochran, P. A. 1992. New locality observations for some amphibians and reptiles in Wisconsin. 27(3):64.

Cochran, P. A. 1991. Oliver (1843): An early reference to snakes in Illinois. 26(4):86.

Cochran, P. A. 1991. Some dietary records for the mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus), with comments on field techniques. 26(10):221.

Cochran, P. A. 1989. Historical changes in a suburban herpetofauna in Du Page County, Illinois. 24(1):1.

Cochran, P. A. 1989. Confirmation of the five-lined skink (Eumeces fasciatus) in northeastern Wisconsin. 24(2):30.

Cochran, P. A. 1989. Notes on the phenology of the chorus frog, Pseudacris triseriata, in Du Page County, Illinois. 24(5):89.

Cochran, P. A. 1988. The herpetofaunas of Pheasant Branch and Waunakee Marshes, Dane County, Wisconsin, with a comparison to theintervening agricultural area. 23(5):69.

Cochran, P. A. 1987. The herpetofauna of the St. Mary’s College campus, Winona, Minnesota. 22(2):25.

Cochran, P. A., and R. M. Korb. 1987. Recent sightings of the Blanding’s turtle, Emydoidea blandingii, a threatened species, inWisconsin. 22(9):145.

Cochran, P. A. 1986. Some observations on the herpetofauna of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. 21(1-2):34.

Cochran, P. A. 1986. A longevity record for the northern prairie skink (Eumeces septentrionalis). 21(1-2):33.

Cochran, P. A. 1986. Opportunistic scavenging by a garter snake in Colorado. 21(3-4):94.

Cochran, P. A. 1986. Feeding an eastern hognose snake in a college laboratory setting. 21(3-4):96.

Cochran, P. A. 1983. Recent developments in the herpetology of Minnesota. 18(3-4):82.

Cochran, P. A. 1982. A supplemental bibliography of recent publications pertinent to the Wisconsin herpetofauna. 17(4):105.

Cochran, P. A. 1981. A measuring box for small living herpetological specimens. 16(4):102.

Cochran, P. A. and E. M. Goolish. 1980. Bullfrog eats bird revisited. 15(3):81.

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UPCOMING MEETINGS

The next meeting of the Chicago Herpetological Society will be held at 7:30 P.M., Wednesday, July 29, at the PeggyNotebaert Nature Museum, Cannon Drive and Fullerton Parkway, in Chicago. Phil Goss, president of the United StatesAssociation of Reptile Keepers (USARK) and owner of Goss Reptiles, will speak about “Us vs. T.H.E.M. (The Anti-petAgenda).” The reptile and other pet communities are under constant attack from anti-pet groups. This talk covers thehistory of the largest anti-pet organizations, animal rights vs. animal welfare, fraudulent fundraising, lobbying efforts andmany other aspects of the animal rights movement. The majority of Americans are still unaware of the true agenda behindthese groups and it is crucial to learn what's happening so you can educate others.

At the August 26 meeting, Alessandro Catenazzi, assistant professor of zoology at Southern Illinois University, willspeak about “Chytrid Fungus and Its Impact on South America.”

The regular monthly meetings of the Chicago Herpetological Society take place at Chicago’s newest museum --- the PeggyNotebaert Nature Museum. This beautiful building is at Fullerton Parkway and Cannon Drive, directly across Fullertonfrom the Lincoln Park Zoo. Meetings are held the last Wednesday of each month, from 7:30 P.M. through 9:30 P.M. Parking is free on Cannon Drive. A plethora of CTA buses stop nearby.

Board of Directors MeetingAre you interested in how the decisions are made that determine how the Chicago Herpetological Society runs? Andwould you like to have input into those decisions? If so, mark your calendar for the next board meeting, to be held at 7:30P.M., Friday, August 14, 2015, at the Schaumburg Township District Library, 130 S. Roselle Road, Schaumburg.

The Chicago Turtle ClubThe monthly meetings of the Chicago Turtle Club are informal; questions, children and animals are welcome. Meetingsnormally take place at the North Park Village Nature Center, 5801 N. Pulaski, in Chicago. Parking is free. For more infovisit the group’s Facebook page.

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